Current Affairs of March, 2014

Courtesy : Wikipedia

Sikkim launched helicopter service to Kanchenjunga. Kanchenjunga is the highest peak in India. It is the third highest mountain in the world with a height of 28,169 ft.

Union government cleared disinvestment in Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Bharat Heavy Electricals        limited (BHEL). Ten per cent stake in IOC is offered to ONGC and OIL, the sale would fetch about 5,300 crore rupees to the exchequer. Five per cent stake in BHEL is offered to LIC, the sale would fetch about 2,045 crore rupees.

Dubai duty free tennis championship
Singles - Roger Federer
Doubles - Rohan Bopanna & Aihsan Ul Haq Qureshi

South Africa won the ICC under-19 World Cup, 2014, beating Pakistan.

The first corner of Bahrain's Formula One circuit to be named after seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher. A corner in Nurburgring circuit in Germany is already named after Schumacher. Schumacher won the inaugural Bahrain race in 2004.

The film, Gravity won seven oscar awards, the most for this year's Academy Awards ceremony.

According to Forbes magazine, Bill Gates is the world's richest person.

Aruna Asaf Ali is the only woman to be awarded the Bharata Ratna award posthumously.

Elinor Ostrom is the only female Nobel laureate in Economics.

Potometer is used to measure the water intake of a leafy shoot.

Sun is a G-type main sequence star or a yellow dwarf.

Napoleon Bonaparte is a French emperor and had died in 1821.

Java cotton is a natural fiber obtained from Kapok tree.

New Laws

Sexual harassment at workplace (prevention, prohibition and redressal) act, 2013

Protection of children from sexual offences act, 2012

Stree shakti puraskar awards are presented to mark international women's day. There are six awards named after women icons of India. Each award carries a cash prize of Rs. 3 lakh and a citation. The awardees are nominated by state governments, MPs and VIPs, suo motu and selected by national screening  committee. The awards for 2013:

Manasi Pradhan - Rani Lakshmibai Award

M. Venkaiah - Rani Rudramma Devi Award

Bina Sheth Lashkari - Mata Jijabhai Award

T. Radha K. Prashanti - Kannagi Award

Vartika Nanda - Rani Gaidinliu Zeliang Award

Seema Sakhare - Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Award

Ahimsa Messengers is a programme aimed at preventing violence against women and children and involves women at grass root levels.

The 1750 MW Demwe mega dam project on Lohit river in Arunachal Pradesh turned controversial as it affects the Dibru-Saikhowa National park in Assam.

Rakesh Sethi is appointed as CMD of Allahabad Bank.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee proposed "a universal linked information system" in 1989. Therefore, the web is celebrating silver jubilee ceremony (25 years) this year. Lee coined WWW in 1990. First site (of CERN) was made online in 1991. In 1993, CERN made WWW free to all.

Part of classified Henderson Brooks Report, a comprehensive operational review of India's debacle in India-China war of 1962 is made public.

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is to harmonise standards and licensing procedures and waive tariffs across US-EU trade zone.

Trans-Pacific Partnership is to harmonise standards and licensing procedures and waive tariffs among the U.S, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Chile, Canada, Mexico and Peru.

Indo-China trade was at $74 billion in 2011 and was $65 billion in 2013. India and China have set a trade target of $100 billion by 2015. India's trade deficit with china is $31.5 billion in 2013.

Crimea declared independence from Ukraine and applied to join Russia following a referendum.

Rohingya Muslims are ethnic community of Myanmar who live in Rakhine state. In 2012, ethnic clashes occurred between the Rohingya Muslims and Rakhine Buddhists. There has been a steady influx of Rohingya Muslims into West Bengal through Bangladesh, which is a matter of concern for India.